(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nanosecond Ti:Sapphire laser. In detail, the present invention relates to a nanosecond Ti:Sapphire laser with high repetition for photoacoustic microscopy.
(b) Description of the Related Art
High resolution optical microscopy such as optical coherence tomography (OCT) microscopy and multiphoton microscopy (MPM) helps to obtain an in vivo image without a surgical procedure. However, because light scattering in tissue is high, a deep image is not obtained. Photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) has high resolution and contrast while overcoming these drawbacks. In the past, photoacoustic microscopy has mainly used a Nd:YAG 532 nm laser. In order to use a wavelength other than the 532 nm wavelength, an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) must be used. However, the optical parametric oscillator has a major drawback in that usage is cumbersome and a volume thereof is large.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.